CGA athletes represent well at national championships
The Central Gauteng Athletics ended top of the medals table with a total of 48 medals while four of its athletes broke five national records.
The East Athletic Club (EAC) middle-distance sensation Mahlatse Mamonyane clocked a season’s best 03:55 to clinch a silver medal in the girls’ U13 1 200m during the Athletic South Africa (ASA) Sub-Youth Track and Field Championships in Secunda on December 2.
Representing Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA), the 10-year old, from Daveyton, sliced off three seconds from her personal best after crossing the line 2.92 seconds behind winner Zikhona Kubheka from Athletics Mpumalanga.
Mamonyane’s teammate Nqobile Banda also landed herself a silver medal in the U11 girls’ 80m sprint.
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She clocked 11.04 seconds to win her heat but ended up second on the combined results table as the Athletics Vaal Triangle’s Denè Prinsloo registered the fastest time in the distance after breasting the tape in a quick-fire 10.67 seconds.
The Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC)’s Logan Oosthuizen grabbed two silver medals in the boys’ U13 100m and 200m sprints.
He clocked 11.44 in the 100m and 22.96 in the 200m to finish second and end the championships as the second-fastest athlete in the country in both distances.
Oosthuizen’s teammate, Chelsea van Dyk missed out on a podium finish after finishing in fourth place in the girls’ U13 800m, which was won by her CGA teammate, Tshoganyetso More.
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The EAC’s Thato Sesoko was fourth in the U13 girls’ 1 200m while her colleague Mmathapelo Ntanga finished in seventh place.
CGA ended the competition top of the podium for the second successive year, returning with a total of 48 medals while four of its runners broke five national records in various disciplines.
First, it was the 12-year-old Chane Fourie who broke two records in the U13 girls’ 100m and 200m sprints. She clocked 12.20 in the 100m and 24.85 in the 200m to write her name in the history books.
Ehirim Chibunna smashed the eight-year-old boys’ U13 100m record after clocking 11.15 seconds. He also broke the long jump milestone, which stood for four years, after leaping 6.19m for the gold.
Sambo Dawson also added his name to the books after shuttering the eight-year-old U13 boys’ 800m, cutting the tape in a quick 02:06:04.
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The CGA track and field chairperson, Maggie Dicks, said she was delighted with the overall performance of the athletes.
“As a province, we are happy with the great performances of our athletes, which confirms that the future of athletics in the province is definitely bright.
This age group is very important to determine and measure our progress in various development programmes.
“We will be developing a system to trace these athletes in the next four to eight years to ensure that we retain them within athletics and the province,” said Dicks.
